Forging a New Life

[Venris Helion]

Upon his return from Ilum, Venris had secreted himself away in a corner of Tortuga while the others celebrated their own findings in their own ways. He found an inn near the edge of the port and purchased a room for the night so that he could work in private, bribing the inn keeper to keep the cleaning droids out so that he didn't run the risk of anything interrupting. This had been a complex and difficult task for him to do a decade ago, even with the tutelage of his master to ease the process; Venris recalled how he had spent hours attempting this ritual the first time, the numerous failures and the frustration that had built up in him.

As he sat down on his knees in the centre of the near bare room, stripped down to his pants and undershirt, Venris felt a chill run up his spine as he set a small satchel before him. He opened it and let numerous components tumble out onto the floor, each acquired through different contacts and selected carefully to form the image Venris had in his mind. Each component had cost him no small amount of money to track down and secure either through purchase or less legal means, but it had all been worth it.

He set the most vital part of his creation down next to the pile: a blue Pontite crystal that was cold as the ice he had dug it out of not too long ago.

The trials through the crystal catacombs of Ilum had been gruelling, both for him and for his brothers and sisters of the fleet. They had faced demons down there, watched their loved ones be struck down or suffer, endure their own faults and sins...but they had all survived. Venris' own trials had forced him to confront his anger against his brother, his thirst for revenge, the guilt he had allowed to hold him back for so many years, and the fear of what would happen to his new friends...his new family if he faltered.

Shutting his eyes, Venris slowly inhaled and began to immerse himself in the Force, opening his mind to the universe and allowing it to guide him. The components of the lightsaber rattled a bit, and then began to lift into the air with the Pontite crystal resting in the center of the vortex of pieces waiting to be combined. Each had to be carefully positioned, arranged delicately and shaped into the ideal tool of a Jedi Knight.

"There is no ignorance, there is knowledge," He began to recite the code of the Jee'dai, provided to him by Zavzen during his efforts to tutor Venris in the Grey Path. "There is no fear, only power."

The pieces slowly began to assemble, light tinkering and clicking noises filling the room as Venris maneuvered the components into place. At the heart of the construct lay the blue crystal, glimmering like a precious sapphire even as it began to vanish under the metal.

"I am the Heart of the Force," Venris whispered, not realizing that by now everything not nailed down in the room was beginning to float gently off of the floor....actually most of all the furniture in the inn was doing this. Distressed and worried patrons looked around as they tried to get their possessions to remain fixed in place. "I am the revealing Fire of Light."

The temperature was now dropping noticeably, every breath producing a light puff of mist, but Venris paid it no heed even as frost began to form across the windows.

"I am the Mysety of Darkness," He continued, the handle slowly beginning to fit together as one single form. "In balance with Chaos and Harmony."

Venris opened his eyes. "...Immortal in the Force."

Everything around him dropped back down as the final component slid into place.

Click!

 

[Venris Helion]

All at once, the world seemed to turn back to normal for those who had been caught up in Venris' task. Furniture floated back down, liquids that had been raised up out of their containers splashed down and made a mess, the frost faded from the windows of Venris' room and the lightsaber remained floating just within reach of the former Jedi.

The first time Venris had constructed his own lightsaber, it had been green and he had required guidance from his master before completing it. It had been so...basic, but reliable in its design. This one however was not so conventional; every part of the hilt had gone together seamlessly, looking like it had been forged in one single piece rather than assembled from many.

When Venris held out his hand the lightsaber slowly floated into his waiting palm where it fit like it had been waiting for him to take hold of it. It felt cold to the touch, but oddly enough it didn't bother Venris at all where it may have cause somebody else to flinch or drop it as though they were holding dry ice.

Rising to his feet, the young Jedi grasped the hilt in both hands and held it out, the tip pointed up. A blade of sapphire blue light sprang from the hilt, nearly three feet in length and thin as a fencing foil, emerging with a soft 'hiss' rather than a loud and flamboyant buzz. The glow of the lightsaber illuminated the room as Venris began to assume a familiar pose, calling upon his training in Soresu. Then, moving fluidly and treading soundlessly across the floor, Venris swung the blade, testing its weight, length and how it handled.

If he were to have his old weapon resting in his hand right now, Venris doubted that it would be able to succeed this one in how...perfectly it moved in his grip.

The hilt seemed to be designed more for use with one hand than with two, perhaps for use in a more elegant style such as Makashi or Jar'Kai. Perhaps later on he could acquaint himself with either of the styles and more, exploring parts of swordsmanship and the Force that he had neglected during his time on the outer rim.

At this moment however, this was more than just Venris receiving a weapon. This was like beginning anew, cleansed of the events of the past that had tainted him. At this moment he felt like his old self again...like a Jedi, but also like something more.

 

[Venris Helion]

Deactivating the lightsaber, Venris lowered his arm to clip it to his belt only to recall that he hadn't had a proper way to carry such a weapon in years. He donned the rest of his clothes and found an appropriate inner pocket within the confines of his coat that would conceal the lightsaber hilt until he could find a better, improvised method to carry the weapon. With a working lightsaber he might not have any need for the majority of his blades, but having a dozen or so hidden knives and a sword that doesn't glow like a star at night did have its advantages. He could decide whether to adjust his arsenal and by how much later on, for now he would simply practice a bit more to get back into the feeling of wielding an elegant and deadly weapon.

First he began to practice discreetly drawing the hilt from beneath his coat, doing so when standing or crouching, rolling or leaping. Venris practiced entering and switching between Soresu and Ataru, taking himself through the familiar steps associated with each style. While out of practice and a little stiff, he soon began to execute different moves as though he had not spent one day away from his training regime.

"Feel like it's yesterday," Venris murmured to himself as he finally extinguished the blue blade and stowed the hilt away again, having somehow avoided damaging any of the furniture, floors or walls of the room during his little practice session.

He stepped back outside into the chaotic streets of Tortuga, where there never seemed to be any rest for the rowdy denizens. Venris slowly pulled his hood over his head, gathered his coat around himself and stepped out into the open where he still remained hidden in plain sight among brawlers, merchants, travelers, etc.

Perhaps he would seek out some of the more violent elements of Tortuga to test his blade against, perhaps he would simply return to the tavern where his brothers and sisters were...he didn't know, but for once that didn't bother him. Tonight he was no longer some two bit mercenary with some affinity for the Force, nor was he once again a part of the Order or acolyte to the dark side.

Tonight he was a Je'daii, a Learner of the Kwa, defender of the innocent.

Tonight, he had found his path.